It's tough to wake up the day after losing by 50 points in any sport, at any level. The defeat can leave a team with plenty of questions and less hope for the future. But, hitting rock bottom can also come with a strange bit of beauty as it means things can't get much worse.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton knows this all too well. The Miami Dolphins dropped a whopping 70 points on his team, leaving the Broncos with a 0-3 record and a sense that things are getting worse with each passing week.
After losing by one and two points in the first two weeks, the Broncos seem to be devolving into something much worse. While such a defeat is shocking and might cost some people their jobs, Payton said on Monday that no jobs were in jeopardy, and he wouldn't discuss it even if they were.
The Broncos must change their results soon, or things will get awkward. After spending an offseason claiming Payton was coming in to right Denver's ship and get its crew in line, the Broncos have provided zero evidence he's made a difference.
Sunday's game is not one the Broncos can simply flush and leave behind. Somewhere in the 50-point beatdown exists a valuable lesson or three. Payton said the team is learning as they go, and the attention to detail of what they're doing at practice needs to improve. He also believes that as coaches, they need to look closely at what they're asking the players to do.
The Broncos received an aggressive wake-up call against Miami, but there's no excuse for giving up 70 points, in the form of 10 touchdowns, to any opponent. Payton knows they played a good offense, but they didn't help themselves in any way, shape, or form in playing them.
It's time for the Broncos to turn things around and leave this nightmare of a Sunday in the past. They must have a better work week, have a good plan in place for the team they're playing, take the coaching, and quickly analyze where they failed and didn't do a good enough job. Only then can they make the necessary changes and move forward with renewed hope.